Still I Dream She'll Come To Me
by Drea LuRuiz
Summary: What if Rachel ran into Shelby after being egged? Would things be any different or would they stay the same?
1. Chapter 1

I've never felt so humiliated before, how could Jesse hurt me like this? I thought he forgave me for the whole 'Run Joey Run' incident; this is by far the worst week of my life. It started out with me finding my mom, and she decided that she had missed too much and left me. The only thing I got out of our short time together was a gold star cup that I've used several times since saying goodbye to her. Though I have to say there's nothing like being egged by your now ex-boyfriend to finish the week, I should have listened to the glee club when they warned me about him.

I was already fuming about being egged by the majority of Vocal Adrenaline as I headed towards the bathroom, so I became downright enraged when someone pushed the door open making me land not so gracefully on the ground.

"As if my day couldn't get any better." I angrily muttered.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't- Rachel?" she stated clearly confused.

I closed my eyes hoping that I was imagining things, but as soon I opened them I realized that my mother had in fact basically abused me with a door.

"In the flesh." I answered sarcastically.

"Are you okay and what is that on you?" a concerned Shelby asked.

"Other than a sore bottom and wounded ego… I'm perfect." I stated after standing up and plastering on my famous show face.

"I meant about the- what happened to you?"

"Oh I was bored and decided to make a meal of myself… _what do you think happened?" _I snapped.

I briskly turned and walk into the bathroom before she could reply, but based on her facial expression I had a feeling she would come in after me. I splashed water on my face and tried to wiped away what was left of the poor little baby chick fetuses. As I blindly reached for a paper towel, I heard the click of her heels heading towards me.

"So I'm guessing that was sarcasm back there." she stated.

Looking up at the mirror I was prepared to make a witty comeback, but seeing that she was giving her famous Coach Corcoran look, I opted for a simple nod.

She sighed, "Rachel, I've been wanting to discuss a couple of things with you. I know you're probably angry with me but maybe you could just give me a chance to talk about what happened with us."

I would be lying if I said I didn't want anything to do with my mom, I missed her and even if she still didn't want to be in my life I would still take advantage of anytime I got to spend with her.

"We could go to the choir room and talk there." I offered.

"Actually, maybe you should head over to the locker room." She suggested.

"Why?" I asked confused.

She chuckled. "Because you're covered in egg, or did you forget?"

"I think I'll just take a quick shower." I answered.

"Okay, how about I wait for you in the choir room?"

"You really don't have to do that." I told her.

She grabbed my hand "I really want to, Rachel and I'm not leaving until we talk. So go take your shower and I'll be waiting for you."

"I'll be quick."I replied without letting go of her hand.

"Rachel, I promise I'll be waiting in the choir room for you." she assured me while squeezing my hand.

"Okay." I sighed.

She led me outside the bathroom "Go on and use cold water." I gave her a questioning look.

"Hot water cooks the eggs." she responded in a 'duh' tone.

Shelby's POV

I waited until Rachel was out of my sight before I went in search of the choir room; I kept replaying all the things I had said to her before I left. What if she really did need me, but didn't know how to tell me that? Did I do the right thing by leaving her? I would do anything for my little girl and I wanted what was best for her, even if it meant not being in her life. I was wrong to think she didn't need me; every girl needs a mother, right?

"Shelby?" I heard someone ask from across the hallway.

"Will, hi." I greeted the rival glee coach.

"Are you lost?" he questioned.

"No… well not really, I was just looking for the choir room."

"May I ask why?"

"Rachel went to do something and I told her I would wait there for her."

He crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a confused look "So you two are talking now?" he asked.

"Trying is more like it." I replied.

"How about we talk in my office while you wait for her." he offered.

I know I told Rachel I would wait in the choir room but I figured she would probably need more time than she thought.

"Alright" I agreed.

Entering his office I took a seat across from him "So what's going on?" he asked.

"I don't know yet, we plan to discuss some things."

"So did she take it easy on you?" he asked with an amused grin.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Well I mean I imagine you got off easy being as you're still alive." he teased.

"Schuester, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that members of your glee club egged Rachel." he furrowed his eyebrows. "You didn't know?"

"She didn't tell me who egged her, our conversation got sidetracked." I answered.

"I thought you knew Shelby."

I shot out of my seat and sneered "What is that suppose to mean? You think I _planned _this?"

"I never said that, Shelby." he defended.

"But that's what you think... do really think I would allow my team to egg my _child!_" I shouted.

Those little self-righteous bastards, how dare they egg my baby! They're going to regret the day they were born when I get my hands on them. They have yet to see the worst of Shelby Corcoran, but mark my words they will.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to imply that you had anything to do with this." he apologized.

"I want to know who was involved." I demanded.

"I'm not sure, she just told me that Jesse had called her and asked her to meet him in the parking lot."

"Why didn't she tell me, we were talking earlier..." I trailed off remembering some of the things Rachel had told me, "she thought I was behind it as well." I muttered softly.

"I'm sure she doesn't really believe that." he said.

I plopped on the seat "My own daughter thinks I had something to do with this, I'm a horrible mother."

"Shelby you're not horrible, you're new at this it' going to take time… besides you passed the whole protective mama bear part with flying colors." he gave me a teasing smile; I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

"Don't think about the past anymore, what matters now is that you make your daughter see that you love her and you want to be in her life… so are you ready for this?" he asked.

"Look Will, I made a huge mistake and I let what we had discussed overshadow everything else. The fact of the matter is that Rachel needs me, and I need her. I'm not abandoning my daughter, I thought that I was doing the right thing when I left but I only made it worse. I will fight harder than I ever have to stay in her life." I answered and wiped away the tears that had fallen.

"Then I will help you in anyway I possibly can." He replied. "You're more than welcome to use my office to talk with Rachel … you'll have more privacy."

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

"Of course, I have a meeting to attend anyway, and sometimes the kids rehearse in choir room after school." He answered after gathering his stuff.

"Thanks Will… for everything, I appreciate it."

He smiled at me, "My pleasure." he replied before closing the door.

Rachel's POV

After finishing my shower and getting dressed, I quickly threw my clothes in a plastic bag and ran to the choir room. I know Shelby said she would be waiting there but a part of me felt that she was only saying that out of pity.

I rounded the corner and burst into the room "Sorry I took so- Shelby?" I looked into the room and she was nowhere in sight.

I stepped over to one of the chairs in the front row and sat down; I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I waited a few more minutes and I realized that she wasn't coming and it was then that I finally allowed myself to cry. My heart broke, I truly wanted my mom in my life and she left again. I thought she meant what she said but I guess that was just the dreamer in me... always wanting what I can't have.

"Rachel?"

I hastily wiped my tears and put on my best show face "Mr. Schue, umm sorry I was just... I got something in my eye."

Chuckling he said "That is probably the worst lie you've ever told, are you okay?"

"Mr. Schue I assure you, I'm perfectly fine," I cleared my throat "just dealing with my break up with Jesse and trying to come up with a way gain the glee club's trust back." I nodded.

"Look Rachel boyfriends come and go you're still young enjoy your youth… before you know it, it'll be gone. As for the glee club, I'm sure they've already forgiven you."

Smiling at him I replied "Thanks Mr. Schue."

"No problem," he looked at his watch "I have a meeting to get to, see you tomorrow." he said and walked out. I started to gather my things when the door opened again "Oh I almost forgot to tell you... Shelby is waiting for you in my office."

I turned my head around so fast I was amazed I didn't give myself whiplash "What? My mo- Shelby is... she's still here? She's waiting for me?"

"She sure is... in my office, have a nice day." He smiled and waved.

"Yeah... you too." I said only to realize he had already left. I grabbed my shoulder bag and ran to his office as fast as I could. Once I got there I looked into his window and saw her sitting there with her back to me, I sighed with relief and opened the door.

She turned around "Feel better?" she asked.

"Yeah" I answered quietly.

She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest "How many of my students were involved in the egging?"

I looked at her shocked, "How did you find out?"

"Mr. Schuester told me."

"Oh."

"You didn't answer my question." she stated.

I looked down at my feet and answered "About nine, I don't know all of their names."

She nodded "So do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Like you care." I replied looking at her.

"Hon, of course I care." she said taking a step towards me.

"Please, don't" I interrupted, "you don't have to pretend that you don't know what happened."

"Rachel, I had no idea-" I held up my hand to stop her from trying to explain.

"I get why you had them do this," I looked down at my hands trying my best to keep my tears from falling.

"I'm at the bottom of the social ladder, I have no friends, and I'm slushied on a daily basis; which is why I keep a change of clothes in my locker. Most people think my name is Man hands; the kids in my glee club only tolerate me because of my talent. That's why I completely understand why you left me, it wasn't because you've missed so much... it's because I'm an embarrassment to you."

My tears were falling freely by the time I finished speaking. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt her lift up my chin; I immediately avoided looking into her eyes.

"Rachel, look at me." She pleaded.

Looking at her, I saw the tears welled up in her eyes ready to fall at any second.

"That's not true… _at all_."

"But isn't it… why would someone as successful as you want to be known as the mother to McKinley High's biggest loser?" I was hoping she would say something but all I got was silence.

"Just forget it, Shelby." I turned to open the door when I heard her reply, "I did want you… I still do."

I didn't look at her, because I felt like this wasn't really happening. "If that's true then why did you leave?"

"Because I was afraid." She whispered.

I turned to look at her "What? I don't understand."

"Then let me explain," she said reaching out her hand for me to take.

I hesitated "Baby, please." she choked out. I nodded and grabbed her hand. She led me back over to the chairs in front of Mr. Schuester's desk.

She gripped my hand tighter and looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I love you so much, Rachel."

"Really?" I squeaked out.

"Yes, I've always loved you. When I saw you at Sectionals I wanted you sobad, I wanted my little girl back, " she wiped away her tears, "when you came to me I got scared, because I realized that you weren't my baby."

"Oh." I said pulling my hand out of her grasp.

"What I'm trying to say is that... the only kids I deal with are in VA and yes, I've had to punish a few of them but at the end of the day they go home to their parents." she looked at me and reached for my hand again, taking it in between hers "You're different, I could care less about what those kids think. You're my daughter, and I'm afraid that I'll do or say the wrong thing and screw everything up. I wouldn't be able to take it if I hurt you and you decided you didn't want me in your life anymore."

I got out of my chair to sit on her lap and I hugged her tightly "There's nothing you could possibly do to make me not want you in my life. I've always needed you, and I don't ever want to let go you again." I softly cried.

"You'll never have to baby, I promise." she said placing a kiss on my temple. I buried my face in her hair and the calming scent of lavender filled my senses.

"What do we do about my dads?" I asked.

"Well I was thinking we could go and talk to them today." She said while stroking my hair.

I stood up and began pacing the small office "What if they forbid you from seeing me? I mean it's a possibility, we both know that. What if they threaten to move me far away from you or something?" I asked frantically.

Shelby walked over to me and placed her hands on my shoulders, "Okay honey; let's take this one step at a time. Yes there is a possibility that you're fathers may not be okay with us getting to know each other. And although they may not be thrilled about it, I know they will support you in whatever decision you make."

"If you say so." I shrugged.

Her eyes widen and she threw her hands in the air "Really? I give you this amazing little speech and you-"

I started giggling finally getting to witness where I get my dramatics from.

"What's so funny?" she asked with a smile.

"You are, because I know that I get the theatrical gene from you." I replied

"And don't you forget it." she said tweaking my nose.

"Oh believe me... I won't." I smirked

"I'm not so sure I like the way you said that." she stated.

"Whatever do you mean?" I sweetly asked.

She shook her head and muttered "Oh that's great. I just gave my own kid ammo to use against me."

I chuckled and hugged her "Are you happy?" I softly asked.

She squeezed me closer to her and then pulled back "Extremely."

"You don't look it." I mumbled.

She threw her head back and laughed. I couldn't help but smile, because hearing it was like music to my ears.

"Maybe that's because I'm trying not to freak you out with my ginormous smile." she laughed.

"Mom, I'm pretty sure 'ginormous' isn't a word." I replied chuckling.

I looked up at her and was greeted with what could only be described as a ginormous smile. "You know every time you call me that I feel so complete and special." she said.

"Well good cause you're my mom and you'll always be my mom."

"I love you so much, my little star." she said and began peppering my face with kisses.

"I love you too Mom." I replied with a wide smile.

"Okay... how about we get out of here and grab a bite to eat, cause I am starving." she said.

"Sounds good to me." I said and grabbed my bag.

"What are you in the mood for?" she asked after closing the door and leading us into the hallway.

"Anything but eggs." I deadpanned.

She laughed and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "You got it."

I leaned into her and listened to the different places she suggested, but all I could think about was the fact that things were finally working out the way I wanted them to. And although I was nervous to see how everything would work out between my parents, I knew that I wasn't going to lose my mom anytime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**I know it's been a year since I posted this… not really I'm just being my dramatic self. ;P Initially I was going to leave this a one shot... however this idea popped into my head at 3 in the morning so I went with it. I have two more chapters planned for this story and then I'll end it. Thank you so much for all the reviews/alerts they made my day! =)**

**Rachel's POV**

Dinner with my mom was amazing; we talked about all our likes and dislikes. Of course we were both Streisand worshipers and _Funny Girl _was our absolute favorite musical. I felt like I was in this bubble just the two of us with no interruptions. Of course I knew we would have to face reality soon, that reality being in the form of Hiram and Leroy Berry. Don't get me wrong I love my dads dearly, but I'm terrified that they will be against Shelby being involved in my life.

"Ready to go?" Shelby asked pulling me out of my internal monologue.

"No." I replied.

She reached across the table and stroked my cheek. "Everything's going to work out Baby girl, I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

"Okay."

As soon as she left the table my phone began to ring, I reached into my bag and saw Kurt's picture flashing on my screen.

"Hey Kurt." I greeted.

"Diva!" he exclaimed "where have you been? I've been calling you for the past hour."

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't hear my phone." I apologized "Is everything okay?"

"Well you were supposed to have dinner here at my house, remember? Anyway, thank goodness you answered because Carole was about to put out an Amber Alert." he dramatized.

I slapped my hand against my forehead "Oh shoot! I'm so sorry it slipped my mind."

"Did you just hit yourself? And its fine I went looking for you after the… you know."

"It's okay to say 'egging' Kurt." I chuckled.

"Well I couldn't find you anywhere, which is why I'm calling to ask where you are at the moment."

"I'm at Breadsticks…with my mom." I softly replied.

"I'm sorry I could have sworn you said something about your mom."

"I did." I said

"And how did that happen?" he asked.

"It's a long story and I'll fill you in tomorrow."

"Well are you having a good time?"

"The best time ever she's so incredible," I smiled " I wish I could've had her in my life since I was born, I love her so much already… is that weird?"

"Not at all, it's perfectly normal."

"We're going to my dads' after we leave here. She said its best that we let them know about us wanting to move forward as mother and daughter, I'm just scared that they'll be completely against it."

"Or they could be completely for it."

"If that's so why did they keep her from me to begin with? I could have lived a completely different life; maybe if I had the female influence I desperately needed I wouldn't be so… annoying and self-centered."

"Then you wouldn't be the fabulous Rachel Barbra Berry I know and love."

"Thanks Kurt I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or be offended." I teased.

"It's definitely a compliment, besides that decision they made to keep Coach Corcoran out of your life was nearly 17 years ago and people do change. Maybe your fathers wish they could've done things differently but don't know how to express that to you." he pointed out.

"That's true." I replied.

"See... just got to be positive."

"Thanks Kurt you really made me feel so much better about all of this."

"We're divas, we have to stick together."

"That we do," I saw Shelby heading back to our table "my mom's coming I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Sure thing, see you tomorrow."

"Bye." I hung up the phone just as she approached the table.

"Can I have some desert?" I asked hoping it would keep us here longer.

"No." she chuckled.

"Why not?" I pouted.

"Because this is your way of stalling and it's not going to work." she replied while flagging down the waitress to get the check "Besides I asked you three times and you said no each time." she signed the receipt and placed a five on the table.

"I can change my mind, I'm a teenager it's what we do." I grumbled after I grabbed my bag and took a hold of her hand.

"Yeah, yeah and I was born yesterday." she replied as we headed outside.

"Really? Wow you looked pretty old for a newborn." I replied sarcastically.

She stopped in the middle of the parking lot and put her hand over her chest, gasping as if that was the most scandalous thing she'd ever heard.

"Old? I am not old, young lady." she said trying to keep a straight face.

"Yeah sure… whatever you say." I said and turned to walk towards her Range Rover.

It amazed me how different things were between us this time around. I mean when we were in the auditorium at Carmel we sat two rows away from each other not knowing how to move forward with our relationship, but now I felt as if Shelby had been around from the beginning. I couldn't help but think that this is what my life could have been like; Rachel the girl so lucky to have not only two parents, but three. Instead I lived as Rachel the loser freak with two gay dads. If Shelby had been involved from the beginning I could have had the normalcy I craved for, but all that mattered now was that she wanted me and I will do anything to make my dads see that I not only want her but need her.

Once I reached the car I realized the doors were still locked, so I pulled out my phone and began texting Kurt while I waited for her to unlock the door. I was reading his latest reply when I heard a door open and close; I looked through the window and saw Shelby buckling her seatbelt.

"You gotta lay off the texting Rachel." I muttered to myself and reached for the handle and pulled it but the door wouldn't open. I figured she must have forgotten to unlock it so I knocked on the window.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked sweetly after rolling the window down.

"The door is locked." I replied.

"Yeah…I know." she shrugged.

I raised my eyebrow at her "Well can you unlock it?"

She tilted her head as if she was thinking about it "Mmmmm… no." she smirked.

"Why not?"

"I'm not so sure I'm comfortable with opening my car door to a stranger." she replied.

I let out a frustrated sigh "I'm your daughter, not some stranger so you can un-"

"Oh see that's not possible because you're much too young to be my child… you know being as I'm an old hag."

"It was a joke." I rolled my eyes.

"Yes and I'm dying from laughter." she deadpanned.

"Moooooom" I whined.

"Raaaachel." she mocked.

She obviously didn't know who she was dealing with, so I decided to pull out my most effective weapon.

"Mommy... I'm sorry." I sniffled and gave her my prized puppy dog eyes.

Seeing her reaction nearly broke me out of my character, it was like I told her I brutally murdered a cute, fluffy kitten.

"Oh baby I'm sorry…" I smiled internally knowing that she fell for it "I'm sorry that you actually think that'll work on me. I invented that look, nice try though." She smugly grinned.

I huffed and stomped my foot "Come on, I was just teasing you."

"Fine." she sighed and unlocked the door.

I climbed in and close the door "Thank you."

"Whatever… crybaby." she grumbled.

I looked at her with wide eyes "I am not a crybaby." I protested

"Yeah okay don't get your tentacles in a bunch… buckle you're seat belt."

I pulled the seat belt and fastened it. "I don't have tentacles… I'm not squidward." I pouted and crossed my arms.

"No you're not squidward." she reached over and pinched my cheeks and began talking to me in a baby voice "you are squishy, and I shall call you my squishy... come here squishy"

I pushed her hand away "Geez woman calm yourself before someone is a witness to this psychotic behavior, and decides to call a mental institution."

"Well then I would simply tell them that my teenage daughter needed some cheering up and who better to do that than her dear old mom." she replied "Why do you have that wicked grin on your face?"

"You just called yourself old." I stated smugly.

"Crap."

"I win." I said happily.

**Shelby's POV**

The ride to the Berry's was quiet other than Rachel giving me some directions; I guess we were both stuck in our own world of worry. I didn't want to let Rachel know that I felt the same way she did when it came to her fathers. The last time I saw Hiram and Leroy was the day I gave birth to Rachel; the best and worst day of my life, it was that day I gave them the best part of me.

The change from green to yellow pulled me out of my thoughts and as it turned red I came to a stop. I looked over at Rachel and the girl who was stomping away and joking with me was replaced with someone who was silent and looked worried beyond her years.

I reached over and placed my hand on her arm, making her jump "Sorry I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay." she replied

"What are you thinking about?" I asked while pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What else?" she sadly smiled.

I reached for her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

"The light's green." she said.

Before I knew it I was making a right turn on Hiller Avenue, quickly spotting the still beautiful house that I came to love while I was pregnant.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked as we pulled in the driveway next to her fathers' car.

"It looks the same" she gave me a questioning look, "I stayed here throughout my pregnancy."

"Really?" she asked excitedly after unfastening her seat belt.

"Yeah." I smiled.

"What was it like?" she asked.

"I'll tell you all about it, just not right now." she slumped in her seat, defeated.

"Can't we just stay in here a little while longer?" she pleaded.

"No can do." I got out of the car and waited for her by the top of the driveway watching as she got out with her shoulders slumped and head down walking slower than a damn snail and I did my best not to laugh at her dramatics.

"I really don't want to do this Momma." she whispered.

I took her in my arms and placed a kiss on her temple. "We have to baby," I held her at arms length "and no matter what happens I'll always be here for you. I'm not giving up on you."

"I just love you so much."

"I love you more than you could ever imagine Rachel. You won't lose me; we're going to go in there and show your dads that we love each other and need each other. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." she mock saluted.

"Well let's get this show on the road." As we made our way up the walkway, I straightened my blouse and brushed my skirt. Call me crazy but seeing the two men that cared for me all those years ago was completely nerve-wracking.

Suddenly a hand moving up and down in front of my face broke me out my trance. "Hello earth to mom." she started snapping, I reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Don't you snap your fingers at me young lady." I scolded

"Sorry." she smiled innocently.

"You're going to be the death of me or give me grey hairs... whichever comes first."

"Seems the latter of the two has already began." she quipped.

"Oh you little-" I didn't get to finish because she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Dad, Daddy." she called.

"In the kitchen." was the given response. She gave me a small smile before putting on her show face and walking towards the kitchen.

"Hi Dad." she greeted him with a kiss on the cheek as he was turned towards the stove unable to see me, which was in my favor.

"How did dinner at the Hummel's go," he question "I bet Carole made all your favorites." I raised a questioning eyebrow at her and in return received an eye roll.

"Actually I- I ummm... I didn't go." she confessed.

"Then explain where you have been for the past couple of hours." he demanded.

"With her." she blurted and pointed at me, as if ratting that I was the one who stole a cookie from the cookie jar.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her before he turned and his eyes went as wide as saucers.

I cleared my throat "Hello Hiram"

"Shel-"

"Is that Rachel?" another voice called.

"Yes Daddy."

"Hi pumpkin how was din-" he came to an immediate stop as he spotted me.

"Shelby?"

"Leroy... it's been awhile, you haven't changed much."

"I'd like to think the opposite." she replied rather sharply.

"Look I know this is completely unexpected and shocking but I was hoping that we could all talk about this situation."

Just as Leroy was about to protest against the entire thing, Hiram stepped in.

"Why don't we head into the living room."

Rachel stayed close by my side and sat next to me on the love seat across from her fathers.

"When did you- how did- I don't even know where to begin." Leroy sighed.

"I saw her perform at sectionals and I just knew. It was like I traveled back in time and saw myself all those years ago, with the same innocence and big dreams of stardom" I shifted nervously knowing that what I had to say next could potentially cost me my daughter. There was no way around it; they had to know the whole truth.

"I knew that I couldn't contact her so I enlisted some help-"

"What do you mean by help Shelby?" Hiram questioned.

I looked over at Rachel and she took a hold of my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Jesse St. James." I replied.

"That egotistical jerk." Leroy spat.

Rachel leaned over towards me "Daddy never really liked Jesse." she whispered.

"You don't say." I replied.

"Leroy calm down" Hiram intervened "Shelby how did Mr. St. James help you." he asked.

"I asked him to befriend her, just to see what she was like and if she ever wanted me." Leroy gave me a look of utter disbelieve I lowered my head in shame "I know it was completely selfish on my part, but I couldn't help it."

"You're damn right it was selfish- to insert yourself somewhere you aren't wanted and don't belong!" Leroy yelled

Before I could even respond to Leroy's outburst Rachel flew up from her seat.

As soon as those words left Leroy Berry's mouth it completely threw Rachel off and angered her to no end, she knew that she had to stand up for Shelby.

"Don't say that! How could you say something so cruel to her?" Rachel shouted.

Shelby came up behind and put her hand on her shoulder, in hopes that it would calm the young girl down. "Honey its ok."

Rachel turned to look at Shelby "No it's not okay," she faced her fathers again "maybe it was selfish to you but I think it was completely justified."

"Sweetie you don't understand, what she did was selfish she didn't think-" Leroy began

"No daddy was it selfish to carry me and protect from the world for nine months only to give me up in the end? Can you imagine having to wait sixteen years before you see that child again? Not being able to hold me when I came home for the first time or sing me a lullaby when I couldn't sleep, she never got that and you call that selfish?" Rachel fell back on the couch emotionally exhausted, and couldn't even fathom the amount of the pain Shelby must have felt.

"I didn't mean to upset you guys, I just wanted to see her." the tears welling up in Shelby's eyes struck Rachel to her very core, she hated seeing her mother like that.

Hiram looked at the woman who gave him the greatest gift with looks of sympathy and pain "Shelby" he kneeled in front of her and lifted her chin.

"I never got to hold her." The look she gave him, finally showing all the pain and suffering she's hidden for so long, broke his heart.

"You had her for all her first, the recitals, and competitions. I just wanted my chance at having her too."

"You're right." was all Hiram said.

"Hiram.' Leroy hissed.

"No Leroy," he said as he faced his partner of twenty years "for so many years we've been the selfish ones. Not once did we put our daughter or her mother's needs ahead of ours. We could've raised her, the three of us giving her everything she needs and more."

"Dad," Rachel finally spoke up afraid that this was all in her head "what are you saying?" she asked.

"What I'm saying is I think its time we burned the damn contract," Hiram looked back to Shelby "what do you say?"

"There's nothing I want more than that but I don't want to ruin things, I mean Leroy you've made it very clear that you're against this."

"Daddy please I really need this and more than anything I want it." Rachel pleaded with Leroy.

"Okay on one condition you cant skip out on anything, you have to be there for every recital and competition she's in, I don't give a damn if you're glee club has something scheduled on the same date all I know is you better be there for Rachel. Don't screw this up Shelby _our_ daughter needs you, so don't let her down."

"I promise… I won't let any of you down." Shelby vowed.

"Thank you daddy!" Rachel squealed and hugged both of her fathers fiercely before launching herself in Shelby's arms.

"It's getting kind of late and we all have to be at work and school early." Leroy stated.

"Yeah you're right." Shelby replied.

Although she was glad she was given a second chance with her daughter it had been completely emotional and all she wanted to do was get a good amount of sleep.

"Why don't you walk you're mother out, Rachel." Hiram suggested.

Rachel's eyes light up like a Christmas tree hearing her father refer to Shelby as her mother.

"Okay." she replied.

As the three parents said their goodbyes, Rachel kept thinking of ways her family could become a unit and start their own traditions on the weekends and during holidays.

Seeing Rachel wasn't paying attention Shelby took it upon herself to seek revenge, the mother crept up behind her unsuspecting daughter "Boo!"

Rachel screamed causing Shelby laugh "Son of a bi- bishop!"

"Nice save." she gave Rachel a stern look.

"Ever heard of acting your age and not your shoe size?" Rachel sassed.

"Ever heard of-" she didn't even finish the rest before Rachel began to apologize, not wanting to find out exactly what her mother had to say.

They stopped by the driveway and Rachel wrapped her arms around her mother.

"I love you baby." Shelby whispered in Rachel's ear.

"I love you too."

They reluctantly pulled away and said their goodbyes; Shelby made Rachel go inside before she went to her car. As soon as Rachel entered her house she ran up the stairs to her room where she had a perfect view of Shelby. She watched as her mother started her car and buckled her seat belt; Shelby then glanced up and noticed Rachel. She gave her a wave and smile before backing out and driving out of sight.

Rachel went to bed that night thinking of her mother and remembering the feel of her arms wrapped around her and it was then that she fell asleep, dreaming peacefully.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm so sorry guys summer school has been kicking my ass and writer's block is a pain. Anyways I know my Shelby is different but that's how I like her, I prefer her to be more like Idina Menzel who is hilarious, sweet and also serious. I think Ryan Murphy wrote her character too cold and heartless which I don't like at all. I mean what kind of a mother would turn her child away just because she didn't need help wiping her ass? Sorry rant over... I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

Obviously I don't own Glee

**Shelby's POV:  
**  
Today wasn't going at all like I had planned, I woke up an hour later than usual which had cut my ritual morning routine by an hour. When I was finally on my way to work there was an accident that closed off the exit I always took and I had to take a detour that made me 15 minutes late to work. All of my classes were trying my patience and when lunchtime came around I was glad to lock myself in my office and was able to keep myself busy by going through my emails and grading papers. I checked my phone and my day brightened tremendously as I checked my messages.

_Hey mom just wanted to say I miss you, have a great day. I love you!  
-RB_

Hi baby, my day just got a whole lot better thanks to you. Hope your day is going well. I love you!  
-Mom  
  
We spent the next half hour sending mindless text messages filling each other in on how our day was going, until Rachel informed me of the time and needing to get back to class.

The rest of the day passed quickly and before I knew it my last class let out. I cleaned up my classroom and locked up before heading to my office. As I rounded the corner I heard my office phone ringing, I entered and dropped my things on top of my desk before grabbing the phone.

"Shelby Corcoran speaking." I answered.

"Hello Shelby, its Hiram." he responded.

"Hiram hi, is everything okay?" I asked as I sat down on my chair.

"Everything's fine. I hope I'm not interrupting anything, I tried your cell but I got your voicemail." he replied.

"Oh I'm sorry I had the ringer off during my classes."

"Well I was just calling to ask if you had any plans tonight?" he replied.

"No actually I don't, what did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Well Leroy and I managed to get off of work early and thought maybe you'd like to have dinner here tonight."

"Really?"

"Yes really I think it's long overdue and I'm sure Rachel would love it."

"Then I would love to." I smiled.

"Fantastic! How's 5:30?" he asked.

"That's perfect."

"We were also wondering if you'd like to pick Rachel up from school."

"I'd love to!" I answered enthusiastically.

"She gets out at 4:30 today and I guess we will see you two later on."

"Sounds like a plan... Hiram?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." I replied sincerely.

"Anytime... drive safely." he replied.

"Will do, see you later."

I hung up and gathered my things and headed out. I spent the entire ride to Lima listening (singing really) to my Showtunes playlist. I arrived at McKinley with five minutes to spare; as soon as those five long minutes passed I kept my eyes on the double doors waiting for my daughter to come out. So far nothing but jocks and cheerleaders were exiting, as they opened again a trio of cheerleaders came out and as they split up my face broke out into a smile. There she was my beautiful baby girl, smiling and laughing at something one of the blonde cheerleaders said. I pulled out my phone and began typing out a text message.

_Hi honey, are you out of school yet?  
-Mom_

I looked up and saw her pull out her phone, she smiled after opening it.__

Yes I'm free at last! How about you?  
- RB

You are so dramatic. Yes I'm out and now I'm just waiting...  
-Mom

I heard it's genetic. Waiting for what?  
- RB

I'd watch it if I were you. I'm waiting for you.  
-Mom  
  
I honked and laughed as she spotted me and waved with a huge smile on her face. She turned back to the trio and hugged them each goodbye before running over toward me. She threw the door open and climbed in.

"Whoa take it easy speedy." I joked.

She shook her head and looked at me "You're in desperate need of some new material." she stated.

"Yes baby I missed you too!"

She smiled and reached over the console to hug me.

"Hi honey."

"Hi mom," she greeted before pulling back from my hug "not that I'm complaining or anything but why are you picking me up?"

"Because your dad called and asked me to." I answered.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, apparently they were both able to get off work early and thought it would be nice to have dinner at your house tonight."

"That's great!" she exclaimed.

"Glad you think so, how was glee?" I asked.

"Pretty good, we've been assigned to perform duets on Friday."

"Really… who's your partner?"

"Santana." was all she supplied.

"Is she any good?" I asked.

"Oh yeah we've got this in the bag." she said confidently.

"So self-assured." I remarked.

"Well Santana is full of spark, I mean she's like a major badas-" she glanced at me and smiled innocently as I raised my eyebrow, "she's really good. And we're planning on singing a Whitney classic so like I said: In. The. Bag, it's just how it is. " she shrugged.

Yup she's definitely my daughter, I shook my head and chuckled.

"If you say so... now we've got 45 minutes to spare, what do you feel like doing?" I asked.

"How about we just hang out at The Lima Bean?" she suggested.

"I like the sound of that, buckle up." I replied as I pulled out of the parking lot and began driving towards Lima's only decent coffee shop.

**Rachel's POV:**

After we got to The Lima Bean Shelby told me to get our seats while she ordered. When I found a table I looked up to see that she was now third in line. I pulled out my phone and began playing Plague Inc, Quinn had let me play during lunch and I became addicted, I currently had wiped out 95% of the population before a text message popped up.

_Hey midget we've got the auditorium tomorrow after lunch.  
- S._

Santana I hate when you call me that. Weren't Mike and Artie assigned to have it tomorrow?  
- RB

Get over it munchkin, Mike has a dentist appointment so he asked to switch with us.  
- S.

Okay fine see you tomorrow.  
- RB

Later M.B. :) 

_- S._

What does that mean?  
- RB

Mini Babs. Gotta go eat dinner ttyl :)  
- S.  
  
I smiled at the new found nickname and went back to playing my game. I was so close to a high score all I need was a few more DNA points and I was sure to win.

"Stupid Greenland die already!" I growled.

"What did you say?" I was so into my game that I practically leaped out of my seat hearing my mother's questioning voice.

"You scared the crap out of me!" I exclaimed placing my hand over my racing heart.

"It's not my fault you're not paying attention to your surroundings." she retorted.

I rolled my eyes and reached for the green tea she got me.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." she smiled.

"So how are the songs for your set list coming along?" I asked trying to make conversation.

"Why... planning on using them?" she smirked.

I nearly choked on my tea and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Mom, as if... New Directions is more than capable of creating its own set list without stealing from Vocal Adrenaline."

"Is that so?" she asked.

"It sure is." I nodded.

"I've for two words for you: Lady Gaga." she said leaning back and crossed her arms over her chest for good measure.

Crap! She got me, okay don't panic you've got this just think... technically we weren't actually planning on using her songs for Regionals, we were simply working on theatricality... yeah go with that Rach.

"We aren't using her for Regionals, we were simply using her as an exercise."

"Yeah okay sure... so tell me more about your assignment."

"Well on top of practicing for Regionals, Mr. Schue likes to let us have fun so we have our girls vs. boys competitions as well as mash-ups and duets, it keeps us loose."

"Sounds fun... so have you and Santana been practicing?"

"No we will during our lunch hour tomorrow though."

"That's good, how long have you two been friends?" she asked.

"Not long... actually we were enemies up until recently."

"And what changed that?"

"Jesse."

"How did Jesse change the relationship between you and an old enemy?"

"After the whole egging fiasco the glee club rallied around and it made us a lot closer than we've ever been. Everyone only tolerated me because of my talent but now we all get along and eat lunch together and hang out whenever we can." I replied.

"I'm really sorry about what happened honey. I should've been there to stop it from happening, you didn't deserve to be treated that way."

"Mom, it wasn't your fault. Jesse made that decision on his own, you didn't put the egg in his hand."

"No I didn't but believe me I wanted to kill him when I saw him this morning." I saw the anger flash through her eyes and I shuddered. I sort of felt bad for Jesse... not really.

"I'm not going to even ask." I stated.

"That's probably best." she replied with a grin.

"Yeah okay I'm never going to mess with you." I mumbled.

Before she could reply her phone began playing the chorus of 'Defying Gravity' and that made me smile... like mother, like daughter.

Shelby began looking through her bag shoving things from side-to-side "Where the hell- oh got it!" she smiled triumphantly.

"Maybe you shouldn't carry around so much crap." I sarcastically remarked.

"Hello?" she answered after giving me her Corcoran glare.

I widened my eyes at her silent threat and went back to drinking my tea.

"Is it that time already? Yeah we're leaving right now... okay see you in a few." she hung up her phone and tossed it back in her bag.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"That was your father," she tilted her head "Well one of them… anyway dinner is ready so we gotta get going."

I grabbed my bag and walked to the door and held it open for Shelby, although it seemed like she was going at a ridiculously slow pace.

"Is leg your asleep?" I asked.

She looked at me confused "Umm... no why?"

"Because I'm sure at this point a snail would make it to the car before you do."

She narrowed her eyes at me "I'd zip it if I were you." she warned playfully.

I smiled at her with all the innocence I could muster "I love you mommy." I smiled.

"I love you too baby." she chuckled and placed a kiss the top of my head.

"Can I drive?" I asked as I held up her keys.

She looked at me for a few seconds before she started laughing hysterically, I put my hands on my hips and glared at her. She looked back up at me and tried to get her laughing under control.

"Oh you were serious?" she asked.

"Yes." I huffed and crossed my arms.

She cleared throat "Yeah... that's not going to happen." she replied and plucked her keys from my hand.

"Fail," I sighed "complete fail."

Things were going swimmingly at the Berry household for dinner, Hiram and Leroy made sure that Shelby was at ease and comfortable which Rachel was grateful for. Hiram made steak and potatoes for the three adults while Leroy made Rachel vegan lasagna. They all sat at the table Hiram and Leroy sat next to each other while Rachel and Shelby sat across from them. Conversations filled the table and jokes were being made, if someone were to have passed by they would've thought it was a normal family dinner.

Shelby noticed that Rachel had been making faces at her throughout their dinner, but didn't say anything until she saw Rachel cringe when she ate another piece of steak. She dropped her fork on her plate and turned towards the girl.

"Okay what is the matter with you?" Shelby asked Rachel.

"I don't know what you are talking about?" Rachel tried to dismiss her mother.

"I'm talking about the fact that you have been making faces at me the entire time I've been eating. So tell me... is there something in my teeth?"

"Yes there is in fact... a poor defenseless animal. You tell me mom how do you sleep at night knowing that you've eaten a poor creature? You know that so called food you're now eating was running around enjoying his or her life and now-".

She saw Hiram and Leroy trying to keep from laughing at the situation. She was sure they had their fair share of arguments with the young girl over her choice of lifestyle. If people thought Rachel Berry was a force to be reckoned with- they are sadly mistaken because after all she inherited her that gene from someone.

Shelby cut Rachel off mid rant, this whole thing was amusing to her and she couldn't help but tease Rachel some more.

"And now he/she is being thoroughly enjoyed... well at least I was enjoying it a few minutes ago." Shelby said with a pout.

It was hard for the mother to keep a straight face as she saw Rachel's eyes grow wide with disbelief.

"How would you like it if one day you were happy and living life and then someone took you away and hacked you to pieces, put you in several packages and then shipped you off to be sold in a meat market?"

"Honey, I'm glad you are standing up for what you believe in, I really am... however I'm a carnivore have been since I was a kid. I've tried the whole vegan thing but I only lasted a month, then I became vegetarian and that miraculously lasted three months."

"Why did you stop being vegetarian?" Rachel asked Shelby.

Shelby looked at her daughter then at the two men who raised her, and rolled her eyes as they suddenly found the tablecloth to be interesting.

"Because I was pregnant with you and your dear fathers told the doctors that they were concerned that I hadn't been getting the proper nutrients. So they put me on a so-called "healthier" diet, I gained at least 70 pounds by my last trimester."

"Wow 70 pounds? That's insane, it must've been hard. I mean I'm sure you were used to wearing a small size before you were pregnant."

"It wasn't that bad actually-"

Shelby stopped talking as she heard Leroy snort.

"Wasn't that bad huh?" Leroy questioned sarcastically.

"Apparently someone has forgotten just how bad it truly was." Hiram told Leroy.

"Daddy, what do you mean?" Rachel asked curiously.

"What I mean sweet pea is that your darling mother cursed just about everything and everyone in this damn universe as soon as she couldn't wear her favorite U2 t-shirt." Hiram answered.

"And that was only after she gained about 10 pounds." Leroy laughed.

Rachel threw her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing, but as soon as Shelby huffed and crossed her arms looking like a petulant child, Rachel could no longer hold it in and started laughing hysterically.

"Hey that shirt was my favorite and all because of you two I didn't wear it for at least a year."

"I'm sorry mama." Rachel replied sincerely with her puppy eyes while leaning on Shelby's shoulder.

Shelby smiled softly at her "It wasn't your fault baby, I blame them." she said as she narrowed her eyes at the two men.

"Shelby, can you really blame us for wanting the best for you and our child?" Leroy asked.

"I guess not." Shelby sighed.

"Well let's get back to eating because I am ravenous." Hiram said rather dramatically

"I agree." Leroy replied

A comfortable silence filled the room, until Shelby decided to break it.

"Rachel, to answer your earlier question I'd be fine with being sold at a meat market as long as whoever purchased me enjoyed their meal." she stated with a smirk.

The rest of their dinner went amazing, Shelby felt content with the way things were going. She was afraid Hiram and Leroy would somehow make her keep some distance from Rachel, but they were supportive and she was hoping they would even let Rachel come stay with her for the weekends.

The four got around to cleaning up an hour later, Rachel went about stacking the dirty dishes by the sink while Leroy cleaned the counters, and the other two were clearing the table.

"Shelby, I got this why don't you go relax." Hiram said

"It's fine I don't mind helping with the mess."

"Rachel, why don't you go play something for your mother." Leroy suggested.

"Okay." Rachel agreed happily, thankful for the opportunity to get out of cleaning.

"I'd rather help, it'll be faster." Shelby replied.

"They won't take no for an answer." Rachel said to her mother.

"We'd much rather hear the two of you sing," Hiram said and pointed in the direction of the piano "off you go."

"Mom, do you play?" Rachel asked as they sat down.

"Of course silly" Shelby replied.

"Maybe you could play something instead." Rachel suggested

"You sure?" Rachel nodded assuredly at her mother's question.

"Got anything in mind?" Shelby asked looking through the music sheets

"Actually I do, I'll be right back." Rachel responded and left the room.

"Where's Rachel?" Leroy questioned as the two men entered.

"She went to go get some sheet music."

Hiram was about to reply when Rachel came back and handed Shelby the music sheets, she looked at them and tears filled her eyes.

"If you don't want to I'm sure we can find something else." Rachel said riffling through an assortment folders.

Shelby put her hand on the on the Rachel's shoulder to stop her from getting upset.

"Actually this is perfect." Shelby said with a smile.

Rachel sat by Shelby on the bench while Hiram and Leroy sat next to each other on the loveseat in front of the piano. Shelby adjusted the music sheet and gave Rachel a smile and began playing the song that brought her comfort over the years.

**Shelby:** _Kiss today goodbye the sweetness and the sorrow.  
Wish me luck, the same to you but I can't regret  
What I did for love, what I did for love.  
_

**Rachel:**_ Look my eyes are dry the gift was ours to borrow.  
It's as if we always knew, and I won't forget what I did for love,  
What I did for love._

**Both:**_ Gone, love is never gone.  
As we travel on, love's what we'll remember._

**Rachel:**_ Kiss today goodbye and point me toward tomorrow  
Oh we did what we had to do Ohhhh  
Won't forget, can't regret  
What I did for love _

**Shelby:**_ What I did for love _

**Both:**_ What I did for love  
_

**Shelby:**_ Love is never gone as we travel on, love's what we'll remember  
Kiss today goodbye and point me toward tomorrow.  
We did what we had to do won't forget, can't regret  
What I did for love  
_

**Rachel:**_ What I did for love  
_

**Both:**_ What I did for...  
Love _

Hiram and Leroy leapt to their feet and applauded both of them wiping at the eyes, Rachel looked to Shelby and hugged her tightly.

"I love you mom." Rachel whispered.

"I love you too baby." Shelby kissed her forehead.

"That was magnificent!" Leroy said.

"Absolutely stunning!" Hiram praised.

Shelby pulled Rachel up from the bench and they took a bow

**Sorry the ending was kind of rushed but I didn't want to add anything else. I'm already working on the next chapter! Oh and if you guys have any ideas or whatever follow me on twitter Drea_LuRuiz or PM me. Please review I love hearing what you all think. =)**


	4. Regionals

**Only one more chapter left! I decided to keep this as close to the original as possible... with a happy ending of course. **

**I'm so happy Idina is coming back to Glee before she goes back to NYC for 'If/Then' and hopefully Shelby won't just disappear again.**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the dinner Rachel had with all three parents, Shelby had finally become a permanent part of her life as her mom and getting to witness her mother sign on the dotted line reclaiming her parental rights was the happiest day of the young girl's life. Her fathers had even taken a vacation for a whole week in Colorado and Rachel stayed with Shelby, it hadn't been as easy as they thought it would be, there were awkward moments, a few disagreements and Shelby had gotten to experience a true Rachel Berry storm out, which she had no problem telling Rachel how she felt about those. Rachel had also gotten to see how different her parents were when it came to how they handled situations and it was safe to say that Shelby wasn't a pushover like her fathers, but Rachel had no regrets she loved her mother dearly and whole heartedly. They had both been quite emotional when it came time for Rachel to go back to her fathers, but Shelby promised they would have weekly dinners after school every Friday.

The day of their Regionals' competition approached and Shelby hadn't had the chance to talk to Rachel at all Saturday morning or afternoon with all her Vocal Adrenaline students going crazy getting ready. Dresses needed adjustments, hair and makeup needed to be perfected and it seemed that everyone was getting on each other's nerves and she was being pulled in different directions, after double checking to make sure her team had everything they needed, they finally made it on the bus and arrived in Columbus with plenty of time to spare.

As soon as they entered one of the green rooms and got everyone settled Shelby asked her assistant coach, Dustin Goolsby, to stay with the team. When Shelby had first met Dustin, she had been furious that Carmel's principal had hired him without notifying her but apparently with the number of students on her team it was now a requirement to have two chaperons. Then of course Rachel had come into her life and she had finally gotten to enjoy the perks of having an assistant. He wasn't all that bad, he pretty much did whatever she asked of him and he never disagreed with the way she handled her team, after all she had won four, consecutive National championships.

Shelby grabbed her purse and went in search of her daughter, things had been kind of weird between them lately, they had both avoided the subject of Regionals and after Rachel went back home they had turned to daily phone calls or if they were busy they would at least text each other randomly throughout the day, which was something she loved. She wanted to find her daughter and wish her luck, Shelby knew in her heart that Rachel would be flawless tonight and as a coach it scared her a bit, but as her mom she was so very proud.

As she turned down yet another hall she saw Will Schuster coming out of the nearby bathrooms.

"Will!"

"Hey Shelby, good luck tonight." The rival coach said sincerely.

"Thanks, you as well. I was looking for Rachel, I haven't talked to her all day. Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, she's in the last room on the left with some of the girls."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Coming to a stop in front of the room Will pointed out, Shelby could hear laughs in the room and smiled, her team was probably pacing the room and scowling at each other. It had amazed her that Will had managed to turn his team into a family in a matter of months, something Shelby had never been able to do even after all these years.

She cleared her throat and knocked on the door, the laughing died down and one of the blonde girls opened the door and Shelby had remembered Rachel saying her name was Quinn.

"Hi, can I talk to Rachel?"

"Uh- sure… come in." Quinn had pulled the door opened and let Shelby pass her before closing the door.

It was then that Rachel and four other girls had looked up from playing some card game and stared at her unsure of why she was in the room.

"Hello girls." Shelby greeted politely.

A chorus of _'Hi Ms. Corcoran'_ was said before they went back to whatever game they were playing.

"Mom?" Rachel stood up and gave Shelby a questioning look.

"Hey honey, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure... let me just do something really quick." turning back to her cards, she slapped down two Jacks, and laughed when four of the girls groaned and tossed their cards to the middle of the table, she stood back up and high fived Quinn.

Shelby held Rachel's hand as they walked back into the hallway and made their way into an empty room.

"Momma, what's going on?"

"Nothing, I just haven't been able to talk to you and I wanted to before you went up to perform" Shelby smiled. "I just wanted to come and wish you luck."

Rachel lifted her head up and gave Shelby her megawatt smile and her mother felt her heart melt at the look her daughter had.

"Thanks, Mom."

"I also wanted to give you a little something…" Shelby sat down and opened her purse to pull out a long velvet box.

"You don't have to give me anything."

"You're right- I don't _have_ to, but that doesn't mean I don't _want _to. Rachel, I've missed out on fifteen years of memories and spoiling you with birthday, Hanukkah, Christmas and just-because gifts. So with that being said I plan on giving you tons of gifts and I thought this was the perfect moment to give you the first one."

Rachel carefully took the box in her hands and smiled, she couldn't explain the feeling she had at this exact moment, she had received countless gifts from different family members over the years but this was the first from her mother and she just wanted to take this moment in and lock it away.

She slowly lifted the top and gasped seeing the gold star locket, she had never seen something so beautiful, and tears welled up in her eyes as she delicately traced it.

"Do you like it?"

She furiously nodded her head "I love it."

Shelby chuckled and took the necklace from Rachel and turned her around to clasp it behind her neck, Rachel was touched that her mother given her the necklace and couldn't help but smile again, and then she stood up and moved in front of Shelby.

"How does it look?"

"Absolutely beautiful."

A knock interrupted and Santana came into the room

"Sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Schue wants everyone in the green room, Aural Intensity is about to go up. By the way am I the only who thinks their coach was coming off some strong stuff when she came up with that name?"

Rachel cracked a smile and looked to her mother who chuckled at the Latina's annoyed face.

"I should probably get back to my team too." Shelby stated before she grabbed her purse off the coffee table and stood in front of Rachel and softly cupped the girl's face in her hands and smiled before kissing her forehead.

"You're going to be great, baby. I love you so much."

"I love you too." Rachel said, hugging Shelby. "Thank you for the necklace, I really do love it."

"I'm glad and you're very welcome." With one last kiss on her forehead Shelby turned and patted Santana's shoulder before walking out of the room.

"You okay, Berry?" Santana had been concerned since Rachel left with her mother earlier, not that she thought Shelby would hurt her or anything, but the short diva had been nervous about competing against her own mother and had been acting weird for a while.

"I'm good."

"Okay, we should head back I'm sure Curly has some cheesy speech prepared for us."

Rachel shook her head and laughed with Santana as they made their way into the halls.

"You're terrible, San."

"Please you know you love me, I keep it real."

Once they entered the green room and took their seats, Finn had turned on the speakers and they heard the four judges being introduced and they all rolled their eyes after hearing the loud applause for Sue Sylvester.

"_And now our first performance of the evening, from Westville High, in scenic Fort Wayne, Indiana… Aural Intensity!"_

As they began their performance of _'Magic / You Raise Me Up' _faces fell around the room

"A mash-up of Olivia Newton-John and Josh Groban, are you kidding me?!" Puck stated angrily, pacing around the room. "Somebody tipped them off about the judges

"Guys we can't get distracted about what the other teams are doing." Rachel said trying to calm everyone's nerves.

"Yeah we just gotta keep our heads in the game and focus." Finn agreed with Rachel.

"Even though we know we can't win?" Santana deadpanned.

Rachel rolled her eyes and walked over to the speakers and tried reaching up to turn them off when Mr. Schuester walked back in the room and lifted his arm and turned the switched, Rachel huffed and walked back over to sit by Santana.

"If this is only about winning for you guys, then I owe you all an apology because I failed you and we should just all go home 'cause it means we've already lost." Will said. "Besides we have got something that the other groups don't."

"What?" Artie asked.

"Finn's dancing!" everyone laughed at their coach's lame joke.

"Now let's get out there we've got two minutes, Aural Intensity is almost finished."

Everyone stood and cheered to get their adrenaline pumping and Quinn had grabbed a hold of Rachel's hand and smiled.

As they walked the hallways to head backstage they saw Vocal Adrenaline off to the side, Rachel tried to see if she could find Shelby but had no luck. However once her eyes landed on Jesse St. James, her smile faded and she glared at him.

"Let's go." Quinn practically dragged her to catch up with their team.

"Alright guys, listen up. No matter what happens tonight we're a team and the most important thing to remember when you're up there is to have fun. Finn and Rachel, you guys go ahead and take your places."

Finn held his hand out for Rachel and smiled when she took it. Things had been calm between them, Finn had realized he made a mistake and that he really did love Rachel, but he knew hurt her when he told her he needed sometime for himself. He made a vow to do whatever it takes to prove to her that he really was sorry for what he did and hoped they would someday be together.

"Break a leg." She smiled at him.

"I love you."

"_Ladies and gentlemen, our second competitors, winner of the Central Ohio Sectionals McKinley High's New Directions!"_

Rachel suddenly felt this calmness surround her, all her previous nerves had dissipated and she was ready to do this, not just for herself but for her team.

Everyone in that auditorium felt the pureness and excitement New Directions gave in their stunning performance of _'Faithfully' , 'Any Way You Want It/ Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' _and the crowd roared after they delivered '_Don't Stop Believin' _'with such heart.

After they finished they ran backstage and cheered, high fiving and hugging each other.

"We've got second place in the bag." Tina said happily.

"Screw that, we are gonna win this!" Rachel yelled.

They all chatted happily until they heard Vocal Adrenaline being introduced they all became tense, Rachel excused herself and went to see their performance from the audience, their song choice was good and their dance routine was flawless, as it always was. She watched as Jesse took his place at the piano playing _'Bohemian Rhapsody' _

'_Nothing really matters anyone can see,_

_Nothing really matters to me.'_

Rachel could truly see that Jesse was all about himself now and she wouldn't allow him to hurt her ever again, she walked out of the auditorium and went to find her mother, she needed to talk to her before she lost her nerve.

After a few minutes of searching and coming up empty-handed, Rachel finally asked one of the janitors if he had seen an older woman that looked like her and he directed her to the staff lounge. Rachel moved her way past the crowded halls and finally reached her destination and took a breath before she entered.

There was her mother standing with her left hand placed on her hip and her right hand stirring a mug filled with coffee, Rachel quietly closed the door before walking slowly towards her mom.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks, Rachel." Shelby smiled at her daughter.

"But we beat you today, Jesse's a good singer, but we both know he doesn't have much heart," Rachel shrugged. "Vocal Adrenaline's best days are behind it."

Shelby raised her eyebrows, did her daughter really just say that?

Rachel was beginning to lose her nerve seeing the look Shelby had on her face, so she quickly walked towards her mother wanting to get what she had to say out fast.

"So I have a proposition for you… come teach at McKinley."

"Excuse me?" Shelby asked amused and shocked at her daughter's request.

"You and Mr. Schuester could be co-directors… we'd be unstoppable," Rachel explained before she came to stand right in front of Shelby. "There's so much you can teach me, so much only you can teach me."

"Oh Rachel, I can't just leave this team like that."

Rachel's shoulders slumped and she felt so stupid, of course her mother wouldn't leave her perfect team for a failure like her, despite the glee club coming together and forming an unbreakable bond, they were still at the bottom and the slushies weren't stopping anytime soon. She needed to get out of here quick before she lost it.

"I'm sorry this was stupid, I should go." She said tearfully before turning and running to the door.

"Rachel-" Shelby tried to stop her and took off after her but Rachel had been out of sight before Shelby made it out to the hallway.

"Dammit."

Shelby walked around and hoped to find her daughter before they had to walk back out for the results but one of students, Giselle, had called her over and said they were calling all the teams out on stage.

Aural Intensity was already out in the middle of the stage by the time Shelby led her team out, New Directions began making their way on and Shelby watched as Will came out behind some students and finally she saw Rachel stand in between Mercedes and the boy in the wheelchair, whose name she couldn't recall. She kept looking to Rachel hoping her daughter would at least look at her, but then she felt someone staring at her and looked behind Rachel to see Quinn and Santana giving her a funny look before they turned their heads back to the audience.

Finally the judges made their way to the stage, holding the envelopes that held the runner-up and winner of this year's Regionals competition.

"_Thank you all for coming, as you all know glee club is such an important- and I honestly can't even finish that sentence. Let's just get started and the 2010 Midwest Regional runners up… from Fort Wayne, Indiana- the not at all stupidly named, Aural Intensity."_

Rachel smiled happily and looked to Mercedes who returned her smile and grabbed her hand. They watched as Aural Intensity jumped excitedly and got their trophy before running off stage, leaving New Directions and Vocal Adrenaline to stand side by side, Rachel walked beside Artie and smiled as he took her hand in his. She saw as Jesse looked at her smugly before he grasp Shelby's hand in his own, the smile that had been on her face fell as she felt this wave of jealousy and sadness wash over her. The fact that she saw her mother look at Jesse and give him a smile felt like a slap in the face, after everything Jesse had done to her and they way he hurt her, she was angry that Shelby didn't let go of his hand. Then again Shelby had a better relationship with her students and probably felt more connected to them instead of her.

"_And now, the 2010 Midwest Regional Showchoir Champions…"_

Suddenly everything became still and quiet as the teams and their coaches waited with bated breaths for the results, and they all watched as Sue Sylvester opened the envelope that held the winning team's name.

"_Vocal Adrenaline!"_

Cheers and yells erupted from the audience and people stood up from their seats as Jesse St. James grabbed his team's first place trophy and kneeled down and held it up triumphantly for all to see.

Rachel's heart broke, she really wanted this, they deserved it didn't they? Each individual team member had a story to tell, they all started differently but they ended the same because they had all come together with music and… love. But love wasn't enough. Rachel looked at her team and saw they all had the same look of defeat when one of the judges handed Mr. Schue the third place trophy. Then she looked over at her mother's team just in time to see Shelby embrace one of the many girls that had egged her before she was pulled into Jesse's arms and laughed at something he said. That was enough for Rachel, she finally let the tears fall and felt Santana take her hands and walk her off stage.

"I'm sorry, Rach." Santana whispered in her ear.

"Me too." She replied.

Mr. Schuster had walked them to the green room and told them that he was still proud of them and all that mattered was that they went out there, not only a team but as family and that meant more than a first place trophy.

"_Yeah but a first place trophy would've guaranteed us another year of glee club." Everyone had been shocked that it had been Brittany who had said that._

After changing out of their costumes, they all went out in search of their families and Rachel spotted her fathers and ran into their waiting arms.

"You did fantastic sweetheart." Hiram said after placing her back on her feet.

"Yes, you were simply breathtaking." Leroy kissed her cheek.

"Thank you, daddies."

"Hey you guys were the real winners in my eyes."

Rachel smiled softly before hugging her fathers once again.

"Hola, Papas Berry." Santana smirked.

"Miss Lopez, it's lovely to see you again." Leroy smiled before pulling her in his arms.

"You as well."

"You were great up there tonight." Hiram agreed before giving her one of his famous bone-crushing hugs.

"Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome."

"I know this is kinda last minute but everyone is pretty down about this and my parents said I could have a sleepover… and I was wondering if you'd allow Rachel to come."

"Well that depends-"

"Finn is having the guys at his house so it'll just be us girls at my mine, and we have rides for school on Monday morning." Santana explained.

"Please daddy, I really want to go." Rachel pleaded and threw in her puppy eyes.

"There's no need for the big guns. How about we go home and pack you a bag and drop it off at Santana's house in a couple of hours?" Leroy suggested.

"Thank you, Daddy!" Rachel was so glad she didn't have to go home and she wanted to leave because she sure as hell wasn't ready to see her mother at all.

"Take care of our baby, Santana."

Santana rolled her eyes "Duh."

Rachel kissed her fathers goodbye before Santana pulled her through the crowd.

"So what's the plan?" Rachel asked once they made their way outside.

"Pizza, tons of junk food, sappy movies and lots and lots of tissue boxes… sound good?"

"It's just what I need."

Santana had managed to find their bus and they chose seats in the back of the empty bus.

"I'm sorry about your mom."

"I asked her to come teach at McKinley." Rachel confessed

Santana looked at her friend in shock "You did what? When? What did she say?"

"Earlier when the automatons were performing, I just needed to ask her but it was so stupid- I was so stupid. She said that she couldn't leave her team, I'm glad she said that, I wouldn't want her to see how much of a loser I really am."

"You're not a loser, Rachel."

"Yes, I am," Rachel shook her head angrily. "You should know you've thrown slushies at me before."

"That doesn't make you a loser."

Rachel turned to Santana with tears in her eyes "I'm at the very bottom of the social ladder."

"That whole 'social ladder' shit is just that- complete shit. Do you really think that ladder is going to matter out in the real world?" Santana asked. "What makes you think assholes like Karofsky and Azimio are going to be big shots once high school is over? It's easier to become no one than it is to be someone. You are someone, Rachel. That's what everyone is so pissed off at, because you know what you want and you won't stop being you for anyone. People want to break you because they're insecure about themselves." Santana knew she had hurt Rachel deeply and she'd regret that forever, but she thankful that she'd been given a second chance and was surprised at how she had quickly grown fond of the talented diva and had come to love her as a little sister.

"Are we talking about people in general or someone specific?" Rachel asked.

"I can trust you, right?" Santana asked.

"Of course, you can always trust me."

"I know that I love Brittany as more than a friend, but I don't have the balls to come out and just say it to her. The way Kurt stood up for himself made me proud and scared at the same time, I don't know if I can handle the rejection, I'm not as strong as I make myself to be. I was jealous that you had no problem showing who you were." She shrugged.

"You admitted it to me, that's a big step and I'm still here. I love you as the funny, protective, and badass friend that you are, San. Sure we didn't start off on the right foot but we finally found our balance and we're on solid ground."

"Berry, are you writing a song or something?" Santana laughed wiping at her eyes.

"It does have nice a ring to it." Rachel teased.

Santana rolled her eyes before reaching over and hugging Rachel tightly.

"Don't ever change, Rachel."

"I don't plan on it."

As the rest of their team started getting on the bus, they pulled back from their hug and realized that they had made an even deeper connection as friends and they would always be there for one another.

"Okay let's go party." Santana laughed as the bus pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

After winning Regionals, Shelby had taken her team out to celebrate, as she always did. She had hoped to find Rachel before she left but Will had told her that everyone had gone home pretty quickly, she didn't even see Hiram or Leroy.

During VA's celebration Shelby had stepped outside and called Rachel only to get her voicemail, and an hour later after about ten more phone calls and several text messages, she had finally received a message back.

'_Staying over at Santana's until Monday. –Rachel'_

And that had been all the communication with her daughter since, even though Shelby had texted and called her plenty times between then and Sunday afternoon. She had finally had enough of being ignored and called Hiram Sunday night and told him about Rachel's 'proposition' and how Rachel had kept her distance from Shelby since then.

"_I just don't know what to do- I don't want to be her coach, Hiram. I just want to be her mom."_

"_Oh Shelby, if you think that's what our little girl meant… you're wrong."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_She's afraid of your time being limited."_

"_I'm not following."_

"_Your schedule is pretty hectic and she thinks that you'll be too busy to spend time with her. Her asking you to teach at McKinley wasn't just as a mentor but she wants you around as her mother."_

"_But I can easily rework my schedule, I can leave VA's practice early and leave my assistant coach and I'll be able to pick up Rachel from glee and spend more time with her."_

"_She didn't tell you, did she?"_

"_Tell me what?" Shelby asked, confused._

"_Her principal said they had to place at Regionals and since they didn't he cut the program."_

"_What?!"_

"_The school doesn't have enough funds to keep it running, glee club is over for Rachel, Shelby."_

"_Oh God, I turned her away."_

"_It's not your fault, you didn't know."_

"_I have to go… I need to make some calls."_

"_Alright, Mama Bear, stick it to 'em." Hiram teased._

"_Thanks for coming to my rescue and clearing things up."_

"_Anytime."_

After hanging up with Hiram, she called Carmel's principal and asked for an early meeting Monday. She headed to her office, grabbed her laptop and began typing up the letter she planned on handing her boss during that meeting, half an hour later she decided to go to bed, knowing she'd need plenty of rest for her busy day tomorrow. Right before her head hit the pillow she fired off one last text message to her daughter.

Rachel had ignored Shelby's calls and only answered one after becoming annoyed at how many times her mother had texted her. Didn't Shelby understand she needed space? She just wasn't in the mood to throw on a showface and play the happy daughter for her mother especially after seeing her hug and laugh with the people who had treated her like crap. She didn't even wear the necklace Shelby gave her and maybe she was taking the whole situation to a childish level but she just couldn't help it, her team had just lost Regionals and glee club was over.

The girls- and Kurt- had taken her to the mall Sunday morning to take her mind off of Shelby and they gave her a complete makeover, they had forbidden sweaters and her knee-high socks. Kurt and Santana had even started their Sunday night bonfire with them, which Rachel had been a little sad about.

Sunday had been a great distraction for the members of New Directions but no one was looking forward to going back to school on Monday, they didn't want glee club to end, yet they knew they couldn't stop it from happening.

Rachel had called her fathers to tell them goodnight and to remind them that Quinn was driving them to school before she hung up and went into the bathroom to change into shorts and a tank top Santana had loan her. She slipped into her sleeping bag and found her perfect spot, just as she was closing her eyes, her phone chimed, letting her know she had a text message, quickly unlocking her phone, she squinted at the bright screen and read the short message.

'_Goodnight baby. I love you. Xoxo –Mom'_

Rachel could almost hear her mother's soothing voice and smiled before locking her phone. She knew she needed to talk to her mom tomorrow sometime, despite everything that happened, she didn't deserved to be treated so harshly.

* * *

Shelby arrived at Carmel early Monday morning and headed to the main office where she signed in before knocking on the principal's office door. Receiving the go-ahead, she entered and sat directly in front of Annabelle Kendrick's desk.

Annabelle, or Anna, had become principal at around the same time Shelby began teaching at Carmel and the two quickly became good friends, it had been Anna who had suggested Shelby take over the glee club after the last coach retired.

"Shelby, what was so urgent that you requested this meeting?" She asked while moving a stack of papers over.

Without saying anything Shelby handed Annabelle an envelope.

"What is this?" she questioned taking it from Shelby, not even bothering to open it.

"That is my letter of resignation."" Shelby stated simply.

Shelby knew that Vocal Adrenaline wasn't the most important thing in her life, and she knew she needed to start over and as much as she had loved her time at Carmel during the beginning, it had just become a job and she didn't have the same passion she once had for it long ago. She had also realized after her phone call with Hiram that she had ultimately not changed anything for Rachel and her daughter wasn't at the top of her list of priorities, which needed to change.

"Why are you resigning?"

"For my daughter. She's a sophomore and before I know it she'll be on her way to New York and I will never forgive myself if I don't take this time to focus on her. I want to make sure I give her everything I can and I help her in every way so that when she goes, she's truly ready."

"Okay, I'll miss you around here but I'm happy for you." Anna stood up and walked around to give Shelby a hug.

"Thanks, Ann."

"Alright get out of here."

"Actually do you mind if I gather VA to let them know?"

"Not at all, I'll get that settled. Why don't you tell Dustin about his new job while I pull the kids from their classes?" she smirked.

Shelby laughed and shook her head.

"This will be fun."

Walking down the halls she felt a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, the stress of being VA's coach had taken its toll and she was thankful to be ending this chapter of her life and although she would definitely miss some of her students, she was ready to enter the much happier and exciting chapter of being a mom.

* * *

**AN:** **This was by far the longest chapter I've written over 5,000 words.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this. Please review. =)**


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